A common method of producing continuous solid or tubular metal bodies is to draw the molten metal from a crucible through a die which is cooled at a rate and in an intermittent fashion such that the metal is progressively cooled and solidified to form the desired shape. Such methods are commonly known as continuous casting methods and have been performed both vertically and horizontally.
It is common to use horizontal machine to cast ferrous and non ferrous metal products. The most common practice is to use a crucible which receives or melts the metal and a die that fits to the end of the crucible surrounded by a cooler to draw the temperature from the die to form the solid products. An after cooler is often employed to speed up the production or to assist the primary cooler. A silicon carbide crucible is employed to hold the metal during the casting operation and to feed metal to the die continuously. The crucible is placed in a holding furnace to maintain the metal at melting temperature so that the metal may be fed to the die continuously at the proper rate and at the proper temperature. The furnace is fabricated of a steel outside and lined with refractory material to form a wall and a bottom. A cover is placed on top to maintain the heat and hold the temperature from escape during the preheat or during the casting operation. The bottom of the furnace is lined with refractory material to prevent heat loss and hold the temperature and to support the crucible during the operation. A round riser block is placed at the center of the holding furnace to carry the weight of the crucible and the metal during the casting operation. The riser block is made of silicon carbide material, and is cylindrical to hold the weight and align the side furnace opening that accepts the cooler and the die with the side opening in the crucible. The total furnace height varies according to the holding capacity from 4 to 6 feet. A space between the furnace and the crucible is employed to permit circulation of the flame of a burner to maintain the temperature of the metal to be cast. Also a space is formed around the riser block to provide circulation to hold the temperature of crucible and the casting metal.
The crucible employed to hold the casting metal has an L-shaped or goose neck opening to feed metal into the die so that it can be formed and pulled out with a drawn mechanism. The crucicle is made of silicon carbide material or other suitable material which is capable of holding the metal at a temperature over 2000.degree. F. during the casting operation. The crucible is made of two pieces, a main body and a neck. The main body is round and has the goose neck opening for changing the flow of the metal from vertical to a horizontal flow. Such crucibles are very expensive and difficult to make. Delivery is also a problem because most of them are made out of United States. Such apparatus has been found to be expensive both to manufacture and to maintain resulting in higher cost products.
Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention are to provide a novel horizontal continuous casting apparatus which is easier to construct, less costly to construct and maintain, which utilizes conventional crucibles and which can be readily disassembled for maintenance.
In accordance with the invention, the horizontal continuous casting apparatus comprises a furnace having a bottom wall, side walls and a top wall. A casting block is supported within the furnace and has a vertical opening and a horizontal opening which communicate with one another with the vertical opening extending upwardly. A crucible is mounted within the furnace and has a downwardly extending opening. A vertical adapter provides communication between the opening of the crucible and the vertical opening of the holding block. A side wall of the furnace has a horizontal opening and a horizontal adapter provides communication between the horizontal opening of the holding block, and a die is associated with the horizontal opening. The die extends externally of the furnace and a cooling device is associated with the die such that molten metal passes downwardly from the crucible through the verticle opening and horizontal opening of the holding block and, in turn, through the die wherein the cooling device functions to progressively solidify the metal as it is removed from the die.